01/01/2026
I prescribe ADHD medication every single day, and I'm tired of hearing "everyone has ADHD now."
No, they don't. Here's the science.
ADHD is a stimulation disorder.
There's a measurable gap between the baseline stimulation your ADHD brain needs to function and what the environment naturally provides. When that gap is too wide, executive function shuts down completely. You experience paralysis - not laziness, not lack of discipline - actual neurological inability to activate the systems you need to get moving.
But when external stimulation closes the gap (deadline pressure, novelty, intense interest, or medication), suddenly you can function. That's not normal motivation - that's the difference between your executive function being offline versus online.
Here's proof ADHD is specific:
If stimulants worked for everyone, we'd still be prescribing them for depression, weight loss, and fatigue like we did in the 1930s-60s. But we don't - because they were discontinued for those uses. They only produce consistent therapeutic benefit for ADHD and narcolepsy.
The medication response IS diagnostic evidence.
When your ADHD medication works consistently - better function, managed symptoms, improved quality of life - that's your brain telling you something real. The gap exists. Your diagnosis is valid.
I broke down the full neuroscience of the stimulation gap and why this myth is so harmful in my latest video.
Link in comments. 👇
